Food

“Freedom is not given to us by anyone we have to cultivate it ourselves. It is a daily practice...no one can prevent you from being aware of each step you take or each breath in and breath out. ”-Thich Nhat Hanh

“Most people see what is, and never see what can be.”-Albert Einstein

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”-Viktor E. Frankl

“The mind is everything; what you think you become.”-Buddha

“Be proud of how far you have come, and have faith in how far you can go.”-Richard Springs

“Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mystery, today is a gift, that's why they call it present...”-Source Unknown

“Smile, breathe and go slowly.”-Thich Nhat Hanh

“The value of life lies not in the length of days, but in the use we make of them.”-Michel De Montaigne

“Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.”-Viktor E. Frankl

“Within you lies a power greater than what lies before you.”-Rhonda Blake

Supplements

In general supplements cover the variety of substances such as
vitamins, minerals, foods, botanicals, amino acids and other
nutrients that you can take in pill, tablet, capsule, powder or
liquid form. While it is best to get the nutrients you need through
eating a variety of foods rich in those nutrients, the next best
thing is to take a single ingredient supplement.

Eating a healthy, well-balanced diet should provide you with all
of the individual nutrients you need. Not everyone has a good diet
so some of those nutrients might be deficient. For example, a
person who hates fruits and vegetables might not get enough vitamin
C and someone who refuses to eat dairy products will frequently
need extra calcium. Taking supplements will help ensure you are
getting enough of the nutrients that may be missing from your
diet.

Basic Supplement Practice Example

1. Ensure that you're eating a well balanced diet rich in fruits
and vegetables. Try to identify those foods you do not eat and the
related micronutrients so that you can ensure some other element in
your diet will supply it.

2. If there are foods you know you will not be including the try
a single ingredients supplement as an alternative.

3. Micronutrients are necessary to support daily metabolic
processes, maintain cellular efficiency and support optimal
nutrition. Since it is nearly impossible to get all the
micronutrients needed through your diet take a "multivitamin"
containing the following elements:

Supplement Types

Vitamins

The foods you eat provide the energy your body needs to
function. Just like you need to put fuel in your car or recharge
your cell phone battery, your body needs to be fed energy-providing
foods every day. Vitamins are like the "spark plugs" that ignite
all of your metabolic reactions. Vitamins are necessary to support
daily metabolic processes, maintain cellular efficiency and support
optimal nutrition.

There are two main Vitamin groups:

Water Soluble Vitamin

Fat Soluble vitamin

Minerals

Minerals are essential micronutrients that combine with each
other (and vitamins) to regulate a variety of biochemical reactions
inside the body. They also activate other nutrients. For example,
without minerals we cannot assimilate vitamins. Minerals boost our
immunity from disease, maintain healthy growth, and regulate
metabolism, hormones, blood, muscles, heart, brain as well as the
central nervous system.

There are two main Mineral groups:

Macrominerals

Microminerals

Other Supplement Types

Many factors affect your micronutrient needs including age,
gender and lifestyle. To know what vitamins or minerals your body
is deficient in the best method is to get nutritional health blood
tests.

Coenzyme Q10

A mineral and herb combination nutrient that fuels the body's
cells with special benefits to the circulatory system. Much like a
car engine burns fuel to produce energy, the body's cells burn
nutrients to produce body energy. Co-Q10 is the catalyzing agent
the body needs to convert raw nutrients into useable fuel.

Antioxidants

Vitamin C, E and Beta-Carotene (Vitamin A's parent) are the
antioxidants, which help to clean up the toxic molecules that are
the by-products of normal metabolism, known as oxygen free
radicals. Free radicals are also created in the body by exposure to
sunlight, X-rays, ozone, tobacco smoke, care exhaust fumes and
pollution.

Free radicals:

Damage DNA

Alter biochemical compounds

Corrode cell membranes

Sometimes kill cells outright

Free radicals may play a major role in cancer, heart or lung
disease and cataracts. Some experts even speculate that the
cumulative effects of free radicals cause the gradual deterioration
of aging

Probiotics

Foods like yogurt and fermented foods naturally contain bacteria
called probiotics. These bacteria are similar to the friendly
bacteria normally found in your digestive system. Probiotics are
also available as dietary supplements and may be beneficial for
people with irritable bowel syndrome and diarrhea.

Fiber

Fiber is primarily found in plants. It's best described as the
indigestible husks, seeds, sterns, skin and cell walls, which hold
plants together. By weight, whole grains have more fiber than
fruits and vegetables (because of their high water content).

There are two types of dietary fiber, soluble and insoluble,
each with a separate and important function:

Insoluble Fiber - "Nature's laxative"

Insoluble fibers are often referred to as "Nature's Laxative."
This is what most people think of when they're told to eat more
fiber. Insoluble fiber is found in whole grains and the structure
that forms plant cell walls. Insoluble fibers increase regularity,
speed foods through the bowel, add bulk to stools and absorb
water.

Soluble Fiber - Heart helper

Soluble fibers are more palatable than insoluble ones. Soluble
fibers consist of gums and pectin, which form a bulky gel in the
intestines. Pectins are found in fruits and vegetables, and gums
are found in stems and seeds.

Fiber facts:

Cooking does not destroy fiber

When fruits and vegetable are peeled prior to eating, some of
their healthful fiber is lost